


a secret chord that pleased the lord

by afrocurl, palalife



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Canon Disabled Character, Emotionally Crippled Erik, Epistolary, M/M, Minor Character Death, Musicians, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-05
Updated: 2013-09-05
Packaged: 2017-12-25 16:30:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/955300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/palalife/pseuds/palalife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day that Metallic Storm broke their silence, the music world stood still and waited to see what secrets the band had been holding onto for years.</p><p>What they discovered were stories of lose, pain, recovery and revival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a secret chord that pleased the lord

**Author's Note:**

  * For [palalife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/palalife/gifts).



> This story is a labor of love between myself and **palalife** , written for X-Men Reverse Bang Round Two. It was a joy to work with Pala.
> 
> Please go look at her art [here](http://palalife.tumblr.com/post/60414493072/xmfc-reverse-bang-2-a-secret-chord-that-pleased).

_Lead Singer and Guitarist of Metallic Storm Breaks His Silence_

_After Years, Lehnsherr Speaks: Talks Metallic Storm, Sebastian Shaw and Charles Xavier_

_Twenty Minutes of Pure Noise: Metallic Storms Breaks Silence_

Headlines like these popped up all over the Internet on the day that Metallic Storm broke radio silence. It was as if the music world stopped, took notice and tried to breathe through the implications. A rush of white noise filled the air as everyone processed, or tried to process, what it meant for one of the world’s most famous mutant bands to finally talk about their beginnings, their storied past and their unknown future.

But as the world around them waited to hear about the band’s history, the band spent its time preparing for the difficult questions, bracing themselves for the worst from those who had followed the band from their late-'90s beginnings to their still-uncertain, still-forthcoming fifth album.

Carefully organized well before the band arrived at The Roxy, this interview had been so well planned, everyone could admire how easy it was to settle into the large booth with drinks at hand, how easy it was to start. No one in the band looked nervous, even if they had every reason to be.

In point of fact, the day Erik Lehnsherr spoke for the first time in his storied career, all bets were off. The lucky few who had been in the room with him and with his bandmates became privy to such candor and honesty that not a few people were near tears at the end of the interview. Emotions ran high, from all accounts, ranging from the pain of Erik’s early childhood to the emotional betrayal by their former producer, Sebastian Shaw, to the creative changes that occurred when Charles Xavier entered their world and switched the band’s focus on its axis.

Below: a synopsis of the story that the three men - and then four men - told, though most of it came from Erik himself. His story was just one part of Metallic Storm, but as the enigmatic lead singer, those at The Roxy understood how important his tale was to the mythos of all of Metallic Storm.

*

> The story of Metallic Storm began when three boys - in their eyes young men - met just after their first Music Theory class at Juilliard. That was where Erik Lehnsherr met Azazel Sergey and Janos Quested, and the three of them formed a band as a release from the day to day grind of playing the piano, the drums and the double bass. It was meant to be a break from the endless lessons and lectures, the countless rehearsals for competitions, nothing more, but as the years passed, the band turned into more of a sanctuary for the men as well as a space to discuss and create than simply a musical outlet. With a rock band, they could express all the emotions that could only be explored in the small moments before steely resolve had to take over in the world of Juilliard.
> 
> Their meeting ignored so much of the necessity for an outlet. There had been painful stories long before they came together, just as there would be more stories, and worse, after.
> 
> However, for Lehnsherr, the story started well before his admission to Juilliard, albeit a few miles away - past the busy streets of Manhattan, into the quieter buzz of Astoria in Queens.
> 
> It was in Astoria where the leader of Metallic Storm was born and where he first discovered the joy that music could bring. 
> 
> In the late 1970s and early 1980s, his life was not idyllic, though if one listened carefully to the band’s lyrics that didn't come as a surprise at all. There was a pain in his early lyrics that spoke of death, of figurative abandonment and of loss so great it nearly broke him.
> 
> Lehnsherr’s parents, Edie and Jakob, had worked hard to provide their son with most of what he had asked for by the tender age of five: he liked the music that they listened to and asked at some point if he could sing like all the people on the records. At the age of three, after his parents had grown weary of him banging every surface in their small apartment, Lehnsherr received his first instrument: a second hand piano with a few well-worn and broken keys.
> 
> It was all they could afford, given their long hours working, but to Lehnsherr, the gift was more than enough. Because young Lehnsherr only saw his parents for a few hours each day, the piano brought him joy when he was alone.
> 
> He took to the instrument like a shark to water, and by the time he was six, his parents had used some of their meager savings to buy a proper piano and arranged for Lehnsherr to start lessons in earnest.
> 
> Lehnsherr kept up with his lessons as best as he could following the birth of his sister Ruth. He was only able to practice while Ruth and their mother were awake to keep from disturbing them both, but in those moments, the apartment was alive with Lehnsherr’s enthusiasm.
> 
> As she grew older, Ruth came to love the music that Lehnsherr created - even if it was just “Chopsticks”, or some other simple melody - and so when she wasn't sleeping, Lehnsherr played for her. She happily moved her body to the music he played, leaving time for his mother to clean up the house and even go back to work for a few hours at a day once he arrived home from school.
> 
> When Lehnsherr was eight and Ruth was eighteen months old, however, all of the joy that he found in the piano stopped. Ruth came down with the flu, and was so ill, she could not even leave her room to hear her brother play.
> 
> Three days later, Ruth’s fever hadn’t broken, nor had any of her other symptoms subsided. Rushing her to the hospital did little: Ruth died two days later.
> 
> Lehnsherr did not touch the piano for five years.
> 
> -
> 
> Ruth's death nearly shattered his parents' marriage - her death hanging over the apartment as a rain cloud clung to mountains. Lehnsherr had been haunted by her voice just as they entered the hospital: a nearly deafening wail as her body tried to fight off the virus. 
> 
> Even after the family returned, Lehnsherr often was startled awake by her fictive screams.
> 
> His parents never talked of their grief, but Lehnsherr saw how tired their eyes looked when they glanced at Ruth’s room, barren and empty.
> 
> Each blamed the other for not taking Ruth to the hospital sooner, leaving a young Lehnsherr alone in his room as they screamed at one another, day in and day out.
> 
> He looked outside his home to find solace in his sister’s death, asking his old piano teacher for help in finding something else to play. He couldn’t bring himself to play anything that Ruth had once loved, and his teacher understood.
> 
> So Lehnsherr picked up a guitar second hand, seeking refuge in the strumming.
> 
> Just as with the piano, Lehnsherr was a natural, and as he continued to play, he continued to let the music take over his body. His fingers ached from the strings, but in the end, he found peace in the tenor of the music he created. It was nothing compared to the wrenching guilt he felt for his sister, but it was a feeling that he could hold on to and chase when the pressure at home became too much to handle.
> 
> He kept playing, looking to find love in the songs of others, as he tried to keep Ruth’s memory close to his heart while also keeping it dulled and muted so as to not overwhelm himself.
> 
> The guitar was how he coped with his pain now.
> 
> Every year near Ruth’s yahrzeit, Lehnsherr’s parents tried to convince him to let them sell the piano. Even though he never touched the instrument, he couldn’t imagine parting with the last reminder of the joy that he had brought to Ruth when she was still alive.
> 
> He yelled each time and slammed the door to his room, ending the conversation with a defiant bang.
> 
> The piano remained, and Lehnsherr tried to smile at the small victory.
> 
> -
> 
> While he tried to forget the pain of Ruth’s death, he always looked towards his guitar to settle his moods. Instead of looking for the songs of others, he started to strum his own tunes - dark and foreboding - to release some of his melancholy.
> 
> He never shared his work, too scared that his words would never measure up to those of his idols. Sheaves of paper started to litter the floor, before he swept them under his bed and away from the world.
> 
> -
> 
> Lehnsherr’s lessons continued, despite his parents’ diminishing savings, but he found that he didn’t want to imagine his life without music and so he begged and pleaded each year as they wanted him to stop.
> 
> At twelve, during one of his lessons, he found that the pitch of the guitar had changed as he played, so much that the strings vibrated more and more when he wasn’t playing. Moments later, the room’s metronome started to tick faster and faster as he looked around the room.
> 
> It was at this moment where Lehnsherr’s powers manifested. His affinity for magnetism would only grow stronger and stronger, making his talents with instruments more and more apparent.

*

Erik refused to discuss his mutation outright, but he did have a small smile on his face as he discussed a few stories about his mutation and his music colliding. He asked that they not appear in the article, though as he told the stories, the entire roomed laughed and chuckled at both his misfortunates and successes.

It was clear that Erik’s mutation was a factor in how much of a continued interest he took in music, and as if to prove that point, he turned a few forks and glasses into a makeshift instrument to play, taking a childish glee in the act as he might have as a boy.

*

> With powers that made playing any instrument easier, Lehnsherr and his parents chose to focus his energies on how well he played and how much he played, even though they were hurt by the sheer cost of attending to their son’s talents. Reluctantly, he went back to the piano, and continued to play guitar through the end of elementary school and into middle school.
> 
> The city took notice of him, calling him a prodigy - his mutation was always mentioned, too - and it was no shock at all when he was admitted to LaGuardia Arts. His audition had been one so powerful and so moving that the committee looked to his passion as a cornerstone for what he could, and would, accomplish later.
> 
> Fame High pushed Lehsnherr in new and unexpected ways. Playing two instruments was suddenly no longer good enough. He had to learn how to sight-read and how to sing, and he had to learn musical theory and history. The terms of his scholarship meant that he couldn't slack off in his academics, but Lehnsherr still found the strength to focus all he had left on his advanced classes. 
> 
> His singular focus meant he had little time for his own personal needs. He found that with his limited time had no interest in house parties amongst his friends, and when he did go to them, he found in time his interest in other men. No one said anything about his choices, just as he said nothing else about what his friends chose to do with their time. 
> 
> Sexuality had no meaning for him - especially after watching his parents’ marriage all but fall apart after Ruth’s death.
> 
> With his mind rarely focusing on what his body desired, Lehnsherr’s energies were always his school work - be it his performances or his written work.
> 
> At the end of his four years, Lehnsherr’s mind had been honed to not only focus on his aptitude as a musician, but also on the regular course of study for most students. He had been a welcome member of the Jazz Band, using his time to focus on the piano and not the guitar, though he found time to take an extra class on guitar when it was possible.
> 
> College, however, was not as easy a choice as high school had been. Lehnsherr’s parents continued to push him towards being the best - looking for more training so that he could be well-regarded later. He half agreed with them, but only when he didn’t think about how myopic that would be. There would be a difficult road for him if he only focused on music, but a photo of Ruth would always remind him of the joy that his music had provided.
> 
> Juilliard was one of the only choices, and so he stayed close to home and spent another four years in New York.
> 
> -
> 
> Meeting Sergey and Quested had almost been a fluke. Lehnsherr had been so focused on getting through another few years of theory classes when he nearly bowled the two of them over in front of a coffee cart just off campus.
> 
> Coffee spilled across all of them, nearly ruining his leather jacket, Quested’s Italian loafers and Sergey’s bespoke trousers; the meeting was a fight waiting to happen. 
> 
> Lehnsherr stood back, taking in the mess he had made, and started to laugh - loud and long. Sergey and Quested stared blankly and were each ready to throw a punch before Lehnsherr stopped and put his hands up in defeat.
> 
> Apologies were made on his part, before the trio sat down to talk - the spirit of being new to the school overflowing from all of them. To this day, none of them were sure why they agreed to talk, because each man claimed to be misanthropic.
> 
> Despite their self-described tendencies, the three men found common ground: the need and desire to not always focus on classical technique.
> 
> With some creative maneuvers on all three of their parts, they rented a place on the cheap and spent all their free time practicing anything but coursework.
> 
> Their practice saved them all from dropping out during the first quarter. Lehnsherr needed the time to escape his teachers pedantic lessons and their unending quest for technical perfection. Meanwhile, his hands were nearly bleeding from the endless practice, and he was getting no composing done.
> 
> Their rented space was a release for the trio; each of them found they needed more and more time away from the typical grueling routine of school. In their studio, they were free to play what they wanted, to riff on songs that they knew growing up, to experiment with keys and tones that already had been written before. They discovered one day that nothing from The Beatles sounded good in a minor scale. Even “Yellow Submarine.”
> 
> In these sessions, Lehnsherr found true friends. No longer was he afraid to discuss his childhood or his stunted adolescence. In turn, Sergey and Quested shared their stories - a boy whose family left Russia just after the fall of Communism and a boy who found his family preferred to live at sea than on land. When the topic of Lehnsherr’s affinity for metal and magnetism came up, neither of his friends balked; if anything they were relieved to know that they were not alone. Sergey bamfed in and out of the room at will after that and Quested felt comfortable in creating small whirlwinds at the end of a particularly powerful song.
> 
> How they all managed to maintain their studies and their extra-curricular practice, they had no real idea. They only knew that without the time to talk and play, they would have grown tired of everything else. 
> 
> They only knew that their time together was just as imperative as school, if not moreso as the weeks passed.
> 
> -
> 
> Soon after their minds were more focused on the band than school, their friends at Juilliard started to ask them to play roof parties or weekend shindigs. 
> 
> Roof parties and shindigs later turned into a few odd block parties.
> 
> They found the release, and the time to play covers, relaxing.
> 
> Lehnsherr most of all enjoyed these gigs - his mind free to roam as he played music that was written by someone else. Only instead of his fingers turning out Chopin, he performed R&B from the 60s, disco from the 70s, 80s glam rock, 90s grunge and a few pop tunes for good measure from across the years.
> 
> -
> 
> It was a miracle that the three of them managed to graduate with how much their side band had come to be where they all found the most passion. They were known as the most brazen of their classmates, a badge they all wore with pride.
> 
> Even if they were all still playing music that wasn’t their own, it was freeing to each of them to have drumming passion and beats.
> 
> -
> 
> Freed from the constraints of Juilliard, the three of them decided that the band - which they had still not named - was where they wanted to concentrate their efforts. Block and roof parties were all well and good - and they certainly helped get their talent out - but as they continued to play those gigs, they all itched for something that was _theirs_.
> 
> It was Lehnsherr who decided to try his hand at writing a few songs over a cold December weekend in their apartment. He hadn't composed anything after the first attempts in his boyhood, but in the bite of their rooms, Lehnsherr remembered the life he lived as a child and how that had focused him into the man who had two best friends as bandmates and a passion for the music that had never waned.
> 
> He set out with his guitar and strummed nonsense as he remembered the joy on Ruth’s face as he played for her.
> 
> Hours later, Lehnsherr had chords written and the bits and pieces of lyrics.
> 
> This was the official beginning of Metallic Storm, though the name was still yet to come.
> 
> -
> 
> The story behind the band’s name was hard to pin down, given the number of years since it had been agreed upon. Lehnsherr said that the name was an idea they arrived at in a drunken haze after three days of parties in a row. Sergey remembered it differently, saying that it had been something they'd decided over coffee, a little after graduation. Quested contributed no memories of his own, but he did snicker at both of his bandmates' stories.
> 
> Either way, Metallic Storm was the mantle they had chosen, and with their new name came new purpose.
> 
> Within days of coming up with their name, the band had found a friend who knew a friend who knew a friend who was a manager.
> 
> Enter Emma Frost.
> 
> -
> 
> Emma Frost had been known as a shrewd businesswoman long before she started her work as a talent manager. By the age of twenty-five, she had solidified the standing of her family's business and left it in their hands to manage as she struck out on her own. 
> 
> Her telepathic powers were one of many reasons that she worked well catering to the needs of others, though she would never admit to that fact; she left her family’s company just to see and understand other minds, and other people in a way that had little to do with reading minds and much more to do with reading people.
> 
> She looked for other avenues that would rely on her take-no-prisoners attitude, and her chance to wear white year round, and what she found was managing talent, albeit in the loosest sense. She knew plenty of other rich and bored friends who dabbled in art and music, so it only seemed natural for her to assume the role of business manager, agent, or both. 
> 
> -
> 
> The party was just like every other party that Metallic Storm played - cheap beer, teeming bodies. The only difference was this one brought the band back into Manhattan and onto the roof of an apartment overlooking Central Park.
> 
> This party paid well, even if it had an artifice of the lowbrow. Instead of focusing on the view of the Park, the roof seemed to come alive thanks to scores of white lights strung across wires, as if the point was to hide the natural beauty just to the west, as if the party were one in Queens or Brooklyn and not the heart of Manhattan.
> 
> By the edge of the roof, Lehnsherr spotted a woman who looked very much out of place with the rest of the crowd: she stood as if she cared little for the pretense everyone else was enjoying.
> 
> He walked to her and did his best to make small talk before he was rebuffed. Instead of small talk, she asked about the band’s five year plan and what their ultimate goals were.
> 
> Lehnsherr shared his vision, and hoped that he wasn’t too far off from what Sergey and Quested wanted and just as he was called back to the stage, he asked her name.
> 
> Introductions were made before the next set was to start and Lehnsherr walked back to the band with a card and the promise of something much bigger than tacky venues.
> 
> -
> 
> Over a very quick, though nerve-wracking conversation, Lehnsherr and Frost agreed to a meeting to discuss Metallic Storm’s options.
> 
> If they were to move forward as a serious band, it would have to be with a plan firmly established. 
> 
> That was if Frost saw the same potential in them that they saw in themselves.
> 
> -
> 
> Though cautious, the band met with Frost, and agreed to put a demo together for her to try and sell.
> 
> It wasn't easy-going, though, even for a band as in sync as Metallic Storm.
> 
> Even though Lehnsherr had been writing songs here and there for all of the time that they had been a band, it wasn’t until Frost needed the demo that he thought to share any of them. They were deeply personal - songs that focused on how helpless he felt over the death of his sister, how his parents stopped loving each other the same and how he struggled with his manifestation.
> 
> As soon as Lehnsherr finished playing the songs for his bandmates, there were tears in Sergey’s and Quested’s eyes. Lehnsherr had managed to keep his emotion in check, but as he watched his friends tear up, his own emotions got the best of him.
> 
> After they all collected themselves, it took them no time at all to push aside their feelings and focus on taking Lehnsherr’s initial melody and lyrics and turning them into something that was raw, pained and filled with the angst that drove record sales.

*

Even discussing the band’s slow start was enough to bring the trio back to tears. The lasting effects of Erik’s lyrics had been well known since the band had mainstream success, but to see it in person was poignant and almost unexpected.

That moment also seemed like the best moment to stop the conversation for a few minutes. 

Erik pulled out his phone, and focused on it for a while. Azazel and Janos walked outside, reaching for cigarette packs and lighters.

It was Erik who still held everyone’s attention, however. He had been cold and stoic during the first part of the interview, even as he described his sister’s death. However, now, there was a smile on his face. It was only safe to assume he had received a message from Charles Xavier. 

No one in the business denied what a powerful force Charles had been for Metallic Storm. But everyone was shocked at how powerful a force Charles had been for Erik personally.

For all the years that Metallic Storm had been a band, there was never a discussion of each member’s life outside the music. 

That all changed with Charles, however. Charles found a way into Erik’s heart and stayed there.

*

> Frost lived up to her family name. She was cold and rarely moved by other people’s emotions. When she listened to the demo, however, even she shed a tear.
> 
> It was clear to her that the band had potential, and in order to get the band on the right path, she suggested that they use Sebastian Shaw for a producer.
> 
> He had been well-known in the New York scene, though he usually focused solely on mutant bands. That suited the band fine, who had no problems demonstrating their abilities and how that shaped their relationship.
> 
> Everything about Shaw said he was the perfect man to produce Metallic Storm’s music.
> 
> If only that had been true.
> 
> -
> 
> For Metallic Storm’s first album, Shaw had been exactly what they hoped for. He let them find the time and space for Lehnsherr to write more lyrics, angling for Lehnsherr to focus on the anger and pain of his childhood. Sergey and Quested left Lehnsherr to writing both the melodies and lyrics, deferring to his first songs as proof enough of his skill.
> 
> Knowing no better, the band agreed and set out to make their first album.
> 
> Hope was all they knew and all they wanted to see.
> 
> -
> 
> By the time Lehnsherr had written enough songs to start recording an album, he looked and felt like death.
> 
> Shaw had been insistent that the songs come from Lehnsherr’s emotional childhood - all but asking him to relive painful memories - and Lehnsherr had. 
> 
> Insisting that writing was best done alone, Shaw sent Lehnsherr off to a hotel and told him not to return until he had the songs completed. 
> 
> Weeks passed and Lehnsherr had yet to emerge. As Sergey and Quested grew nervous, Shaw tried to appease them by telling them each how profound and raw the final product would be if Lehnsherr was left to his own devices.
> 
> When Lehnsherr came out of his seclusion and into the studio, he was haunted by memories that Sergey and Quested would never ask about because they only knew the vaguest details. Even when Lehnsherr had shared his storied past years before, he told them only what they needed to know and not everything that surrounded his emotional neglect and reliance on music for solace.
> 
> Lehnsherr could only managed to record a song or two at each recording session, his mind clouded with memories that Shaw had forced back to the surface.
> 
> That pain gave Shaw joy and he used that to help create Metallic Storm’s first album: _Don’t_.
> 
> It was an album that spoke of Lehnsherr’s pain, but each raw emotion that came from his lips was hidden beneath layers of other stories like his. He sang not just of his pain, but of the pain of so many teens - mutant or not - when it came to being loved, being wanted and being accepted.
> 
> Mutants - young and old alike - found the album and flocked to it. 
> 
> When fans were asked why they bought the album, the overwhelming answer was that the band found a way to speak to their shared pain and their shared anger at life.
> 
> It was as good a way to start a career as any.
> 
> -
> 
> _Don't_ hit double platinum. It quickly climbed the charts, leaving all others in its dust - from the boy bands to the rappers to the indiepop groups.
> 
> According to Frost, the album’s sale had necessitated a tour, even on as small a label as they were.
> 
> The tour was so different from all the house parties they had been used to playing. They had bypassed the smaller clubs in New York, so the arenas they saw on tour venues dwarfed anything they had seen before. 
> 
> Weeks bled into months bled into a year before the band could return from around the globe, bone-tired from shows and planes and fans stalking them at every turn of their spare time.
> 
> New York City welcomed her exhausted sons home. Families, such as they were, were seen again and life as it was continued.
> 
> Lehnsherr tried to take time to see his parents, but when he called, his mother sounded more resigned than she ever had in the past.
> 
> Even with his success, he had not been able to find a way into his parents’ hearts.
> 
> Maybe he was never there in the first place.
> 
> -
> 
> The band was given eight months to recuperate from the tour before Shaw ordered them to get ready for the next album. Shaw had already heard from the label that the world was clamouring for more of Metallic Storm’s view of the world, and that if they band wanted to remain at the tip of the cultural zeitgeist, they had to produce another album quickly. 
> 
> Lehnsherr’s mind was still occupied with everything else, and channeling his own pain - again - was the farthest thing from his mind. His mind still hadn’t cottoned on to the band’s success or his place as an influential figure in popular culture.
> 
> As he stagnated in his apartment, the words never came, and Shaw’s anger grew and grew. The pressure was not from Shaw alone, but from everyone who had invested in Metallic Storm’s future and expected their investment back with interest.
> 
> Like before, Lehnsherr’s time in seclusion drew from weeks into months. Each time he looked at his guitar or piano, though, Lehnsherr wanted to defenestrate them both. Music and lyrics remained unfinished, until Shaw’s ire grew so violent that he all but wrung Lehnsherr’s neck to get the younger man’s attention.
> 
> Suitably worried about his future, Lehnsherr looked at his instruments with hope rather than fear and composed the necessary songs for the album.
> 
> When Lehnsherr finally managed to eke out enough lyrics for an album, the band went back to Shaw with the work thus far.
> 
> The meeting was so disastrous that the entire building knew how angry Shaw was at the output. Until this meeting, the band had never known Shaw to be a mutant like them, but with his frustration at Lehnsherr’s work and how delayed the album was because of it, the entire building shook with all the kinetic energy Shaw had stored until then.
> 
> There had been no pleasing Shaw, and the band was set off again to hopes that Lehnsherr would have better luck this time.
> 
> Six months later, Shaw was still unsatisfied with the work that the band came back with after their previous dismissal.
> 
> The producer was rarely satisfied with anything, but everyone in the band knew that finding a producer who took an interest in mutant bands was difficult. Despite how well _Don’t_ had done, they were still only one small blip in the musical landscape that stretched far and wide.
> 
> They stayed with Shaw, though, because Frost said that anyone else was too established for the likes of them right now. One successful album was not enough for producers who had both mutant and non-mutant clients, nor would it be in Frost’s eyes.
> 
> If they could stay with Shaw through two more albums, they would be able to find someone else. Anyone else.
> 
> But until those two albums were written, they were stuck with Shaw and his moods. Lehnsherr felt the full weight of Metallic Storm’s position; he retreated into himself more than he had before. 
> 
> -
> 
> _The Souls of Mutants_ , Metallic Storm's sophomore effort, dropped in 2004 to a storm of media hype and fan support.
> 
> However, for all the hype and support before the album went live, it failed to live up to expectations.
> 
> Lehnsherr’s emotions were as raw as before, but the songs remained in the same register as in _Don't_ \- and worse, this time, because now the gut-punch was missing. 
> 
> The lyrics were sullen, morose and lacked the fight that those in _Don’t_ had. Instead of speaking of how being alone made people stronger, the lyrics now only spoke of the darkness that surrounded the life of the misunderstood.
> 
> Lehnsherr withdrew from press for the album, refusing to go on air with stations around the country as the band worked harder than they had before to drum up interest and support for their album and tour.
> 
> In his absence, the interviews were stilted - Sergey and Quested rather unsure of Lehnsherr’s inner meaning and their lack of involvement in the writing process very evident. 
> 
> Fizzling away, Metallic Storm’s second tour failed to match its previous’ success. Venues went half-sold and only Frost and Shaw’s strong-arming kept the tour from being cancelled outright. 
> 
> Diehard fans still followed the band in droves, but whereas the first tour found their bus nightly hounded by fans looking for a small private moment with the band, this time the lots around their tour bus remained empty, everywhere they went.
> 
> -
> 
> In the privacy of their bus, tensions ran high. Lehnsherr became more self-loathing than he had been before - his outlet of music doing nothing to erase the demons in his mind - just as Sergey and Quested grew weary of his ever-changing moods.
> 
> Lehnsherr’s pained childhood nearly broke the band on more than one occasion - he had no way to express his pain and frustration that wasn’t music and even the music that they played nightly did nothing to ease his temper.
> 
> In moments where he had been rung raw, Lehnsherr took to alcohol - if available - or destruction - by the end of the second tour, Metallic Storm had gone through five tour buses due to damage.
> 
> -
> 
> Pleading for a rest, Lehnsherr tried to give himself a year off after the failed tour of _The Souls of Mutants_ before he even thought about another album.
> 
> It only did him so much good, because Shaw’s time was always valuable, and with Metallic Storm not prepping for another album, Shaw grew impatient. He was no longer violent with the band, but his calls dripped with an annoyance and an irritation that would not be easily solved.
> 
> Other acts were demanding his time, but with the future of Metallic Storm unclear, Shaw wasn’t working - claiming that he had to be ready at a moment’s notice to work with Metallic Storm once Lehnsherr found his voice again.
> 
> His resolve to work only made him more demanding and more insistent.
> 
> Lehnsherr, for all that his pain had fueled him before, found nothing in his own mind inspired him.
> 
> In a dark moment, Lehnsherr turned his own pain on himself - he broke a bottle and aimed for his own hand and wrist. It was no longer enough for him to break and destroy tables, couches and showers in their tour bus. That rage did nothing to storm the tempest in his mind, but as the blood ran down his hand and wrist to the floor, there was no more of a release for Lehnsherr.
> 
> Sergey found him just as the floor grew bloody, but the pain that Lehnsherr sought to unleash remained inside. Lehnsherr had found no other way to exorcise his demons - extreme as the measure was - because what had always grounded him was now part of the problem, not the solution. 
> 
>  
> 
> -
> 
> Reports of Lehnsherr’s self-harm spread like wildfire through the industry, though the band made no official statement. Calling him stunted and immature, many in the mainstream press failed to look at his lyrics for signs of his troubled life until this point. They only spoke of a man who went too far when it came to the trials and tribulations of stardom, not of a man who had long known pain and found his regular outlets lacking.
> 
> Frost said nothing, though she was concerned. Sergey and Quested had no answers for his pain, either. They all had only known him as a man who had somewhat come to terms with his turmoil, but knew nothing about how to help him when his pain became too much and too powerful.
> 
> Lehnsherr was left to wallow in his demons - real and imagined - and for Shaw’s ire to return at his lack of progress on the next album.
> 
> -
> 
> Recovery was slow for Lehnsherr and even as he looked to his music to once again serve as a place to exorcise his pain, Shaw saw the lyrics and laughed.
> 
> Lehnsherr’s second attempts were no better than his first, in Shaw’s mind.
> 
> This time, Lehnsherr’s response was to nearly overdose on pills and alcohol.
> 
> Metallic Storm seemed on the verge of dying along with their lead singer.
> 
> -
> 
> For all of the times Frost had seemed a cold presence in the band’s career, Lehnsherr’s downward spiral brought her back to the forefront of their lives. She kept Shaw and the label at bay while Lehnsherr left New York for a therapeutic trip to Ojai, California at her suggestion.
> 
> Arguing for the value of being surrounded by scores of other tourists and not having to focus on his music, Frost’s voice was determined.
> 
> More to the point, she argued that if Lehnsherr did nothing to stop his behavior, the band would either try to continue without him - highly unlikely though given that he was the frontman - or be dropped by the label altogether.
> 
> If Lehnsherr wanted to see Metallic Storm tour again, it was in his interest to find himself again.
> 
> -
> 
> In the hills north of Los Angeles, Lehnsherr was able to relax amide the few thousand residents. Very few took interest in him as he took up a near permanent residence in the Ojai Inn, leaving his room only for a few casual hikes.
> 
> Left to his own devices, Lehnsherr struggled to find himself - to find the person that he actually was, beyond the musician, beyond the lead of Metallic Storm.
> 
> His life had always revolved around his passion for music, and without music to keep him focused, he didn’t know what he was.
> 
> Even his feeble attempts at sexual satisfaction left him unsatisfied. Men and women, alike, were equally disenchanted with him, leaving him with numerous first dates and nothing else.
> 
> The sunsets, the hills, they all did nothing to help him find who he was. Instead, they left him with an ache that threatened to split him wide, to destroy him as nothing else so far had done.
> 
> -
> 
> As Lehnsherr spent months off in the hills of California, Sergey and Quested were left to pick up the pieces in New York.
> 
> Shaw had no sympathy for Lehnsherr’s mental state - or his role in the deterioration of that mental state - and barked at the two of them for the time it was taking for the band to have anything ready for him with which to work.
> 
> Without Lehnsherr there to take the majority of Shaw’s ire and anger, the remaining band members consulted with Frost on how to proceed.
> 
> Her advice - sensible as always - was to wait Lehnsherr out. He would return soon enough and the band could get back to their business. 
> 
> -
> 
> What was meant to be a five-month respite had extended into nearly a year before Frost decided to pay Lehnsherr a visit.
> 
> She found him gaunt, and unsure of himself. In short, he was worse than he had been after he left New York.
> 
> In a personal act of desperation, after one day with Lehnsherr, she made a phone call that would change the band forever.

*

For all of the pain that Erik experienced in those two years, he spoke of those times as if they were nothing of import. The way he had come so close to death - both actual and artistic - was no longer a factor in his life. The change in him was easily attributed, though the effect one man could have on the leader surprised Azazel, Janos, and business cohorts alike.

Erik, during a break, went back to his phone. The smile returned before he excused himself to make a call away from the rest of us.

It took the room a total of five seconds to assume who he was calling.

The answer to that became all too apparent when in the next segment a man in a wheelchair rolled into the venue. The bright smile on the man’s face was for Erik and Erik alone.

*

> Frost knew well enough that Shaw’s tactics were going to render her hard work useless, given how sullen and lost Lehnsherr looked.
> 
> Even in a place that was meant to restore even the weariest of souls, Lehnsherr was still lost. 
> 
> Her one phone call yielded results two days later when she found a bright smile, even brighter eyes and a cheery expression greeting her in the hotel’s restaurant.
> 
> Charles Xavier was all too happy to help out a band in need, she knew. He had a penchant for taking on struggling and unfocused acts from everywhere and turning them into commercial successes.
> 
> He was just what Lehnsherr, and by extension Metallic Storm, needed.
> 
> -
> 
> Her first meeting with Xavier left the pair with plans for an early dinner with Lehnsherr, in the hopes of getting the enigmatic lead singer to turn himself around.
> 
> For their work, however, Lehnsherr seemed reluctant and almost hesitant to even think about music again.
> 
> His focus was gone, it appeared, and so was his drive.
> 
> -
> 
> Attempts to coax Lehnsherr back into the business of music were futile. He refused to open the guitar case that sat in the corner of his room, just as he refused to do much of anything.
> 
> At a complete loss, Frost left, giving up on her client for her own sanity as well as his.
> 
> However, Xavier stayed, much to everyone’s amazement.
> 
> His doggedness saved Metallic Storm and Lehnsherr.
> 
> -
> 
> On a dreary and rainy December day, Xavier called Lehnsherr’s room and invited him for tea. 
> 
> With nothing else to do, Lehnsherr agreed. In the dim light of the hotel’s restaurant, the two talked for hours about everything and nothing at the same time.
> 
> The conversation left Lehnsherr with a smile on his face for the first time in nearly three years and the promise of Xavier to produce Metallic Storm’s next album - as soon as Lehnsherr was ready. Xavier had said Frost would settle the band’s contract with Shaw given that Lehnsherr’s respite was the result of the other producer.
> 
> -
> 
> In the quiet of his hotel room after his meeting with Xavier, Lehnsherr wrote for the first time without thinking of his pain.
> 
> He thought only of the promise of something else.
> 
> Something that Xavier had called hope. Lehnsherr had long ago lost the true meaning of the word. It had been what he saw in Ruth’s eyes as he played and in the applause from audiences after recitals.
> 
> Hope was not as elusive as Lehnsherr had thought in the last five years. He had found it once and he could find it again.
> 
> -
> 
> Just as the roar of New Year's Eve greetings swept through New York City, Lehnsherr came home. His heavy heart had been much lightened and as Sergey and Quested greeted him at the airport, he smiled.
> 
> Lehnsherr thought there must be better times ahead.
> 
> -
> 
> The change in Lehnsherr was apparent to everyone, even his parents. For the first time in years, he visited his childhood home and left without the burden of Ruth’s death tied around his neck.
> 
> His parents were still cold and aloof, but it now felt as if they had never let go of their pain.
> 
> His pain - all of the years boiled deep in his bones - was nowhere to be seen.
> 
> As he left, he said that the man he was had died in Ojai. He had been reborn there as well, thanks to the help of Xavier.
> 
> The man who kept him afloat.
> 
> -
> 
> To this day, Lehnsherr and Xavier will never reveal how the pair managed to keep Lehnsherr’s pain from consuming him whole. All they mentioned was finding the point between rage and serenity.
> 
> That point was never elaborated on.
> 
> It never will be.
> 
> -
> 
> With newfound strength and faith in himself, Lehnsherr’s ability to write and craft an album returned. 
> 
> Twelve weeks after returning from California, Metallic Storm went back into the studios, with Xavier at the helm, and worked on crafting the band’s third album.
> 
> _Points Between_ hit the airwaves after only six months following Lehnsherr’s return.
> 
> -
> 
> It was hard for anyone to ignore how close Lehnsherr and Xavier grew as the album took shape. There were plenty of lunches, coffees and meetings between the two, but beyond that, Sergey and Quested noticed the pair arriving at the studio at shorter and shorter intervals from each other.
> 
> More than just the timing of their arrivals, each man started to show up with conspicuous marks and rumpled clothing.
> 
> There was no hiding that there was more than a professional relationship between Lehnsherr and Xavier, but no one said anything to draw more attention than was absolutely necessary.
> 
> No longer was Lehnsherr speaking of the pain of his youth and his myriad issues with family and his powers. Now he spoke of seeking a peace and a serenity, of channelling his struggles into something positive.
> 
> -
> 
> The change in tone was noticed by everyone as the first single from the album stormed the charts.
> 
> Lehnsherr still refused to discuss the album, wishing to remain silent on his creative process. In his stead, Sergey and Quested only spoke about the clarity Lehnsherr had found in California for the band’s turnaround. Well, the time in California and their new producer, who let the band find their voice as it grew.

*

There was no way for Charles to wheel himself towards the large booth where the band sat, but just as the room broke for another break, Erik shot up and carefully brought Charles into the booth, sitting Charles next to his spot. Charles made no protests of being carried into the booth and Erik made no complaints about lifting his boyfriend into it.

To say that the pair were in love was a massive understatement. There was such affection and respect between the two men that as the room settled back into order, Azazel and Janos said that they wanted to take an extended break.

Charles and Erik seemed happy enough to talk by themselves and did so without hesitation.

It was a surprise given how tight-lipped Erik had always been.

*

> Lehnsherr balked at all of the attention that the band had been receiving. He was wary of the amount of praise heaped upon him and his bandmates. Even if he had been accustomed to accolades as a teen and their first tour, there was something different this time around. It was no longer that Lehnsherr’s voice spoke for so many others, but that so many people were invested in his life; signs around their venues wished him well whereas they had previously said that he spoke for the crowds. Lehnsherr was no longer just a voice to others’ pain, he was no a symbol of someone who could effect positive change in his life.
> 
> Xavier had to spend most of his time outside of the studio putting Lehnsherr at ease, explaining that without Shaw, there was a brighter future for the band and for Lehnsherr himself. Lehnsherr understood little of his role - he never had paid attention to his status as frontman being more than a face to put with the band’s name - but as the weeks went by and more and more people sent fan mail expressing how his recent struggles had been a bright spot to them in their own darker moments, Xavier had to do more and more to reorient Lehnsherr’s mind to his ever-evolving status.
> 
> Such conversations later devolved into heated make-out sessions between producer and musician, though neither seemed to mind the blurred lines of their relationships. They had long since started to find each other attractive at the start of the album’s recording, and nothing seemed to temper the attraction as the months went by.
> 
> If anything, Lehnsherr basked in the positive attention that Xavier regularly gave him - smiling with a wide and predatory grin whenever Xavier was required to talk Lehnsherr down from a panic at the pressure to maintain this new mood. For so long Lehnsherr had lived without positive reinforcement of his writing that the attention Xavier gave to him was novel and unexpected.
> 
> Of course, there were only so many secrets that could be kept in the music industry. Xavier did his level best to make sure that their trysts coincided with press events where Xavier's presence was required alongside Metallic Storm’s.
> 
> In their shared suites, they found time to explore more and more of each other. Not only did they share stories of their pasts, but also their hopes, such as they were. And when they weren’t busy discussing their lives, they were content to bring each other pleasure.
> 
> Lehnsherr had at first been hesitant to start anything, his life so long devoid of any sort of affection. Xavier, in contrast, gave his affections easily and was the first to pepper Lehnsherr’s body with kisses and bites.
> 
> After weeks of small and quiet moments, Xavier had managed to get the two of them to a secluded dinner.
> 
> It was there that Xavier first expressed his love for Lehnsherr. The shock wore off for Lehnsherr, however, just after Xavier managed to get them into a hotel room and started to undress Lehnsherr in short order.
> 
> Everything was different from that moment.
> 
> -
> 
> Even though Lehnsherr still shied away from defining his personal relationship with Xavier, it was evident and obvious that the relationship was a positive sign. Lehnsherr’s moods were vastly improved from the days before he left New York, and as the band’s success grew, he stopped trying to hide what was between Xavier and himself.
> 
> Dinners with the band now included Xavier, who all but curled into Lehnsherr’s side when there was no one else watching, and after that the two of them gave themselves up to a shared pleasure that nearly destroyed three different hotel beds.
> 
> -
> 
> Because Lehnsherr never spoke to the press, the pair managed to keep their relationship out of the public eye until just before that year’s Grammy Awards.
> 
> Nominated in seven categories, the band was all but assured to win at least one. With that expectation came the need to walk the red carpet. Lehnsherr tried to shy away from the spectacle of it, but Xavier countered with how much it would endear the press to Lehnsherr after so many years hidden away.
> 
> To everyone’s shock, Lehnsherr walked down the carpet with his hand firmly grasping Xavier’s. No one had any idea what to make of the move and knowing Lehnsherr as they did, asked nothing.
> 
> The photos alone of the two of them together were enough to raise many questions.
> 
> -
> 
> Those questions, however many of them there were, went unanswered as new questions arose later that night.
> 
> Following the band’s successful evening - taking home four awards - Xavier had separated himself from the band to make a quick trip home to change before heading out to the lavish afterparties.
> 
> In the time that Xavier left Lehnsherr’s side, their whole world changed.
> 
> -
> 
> Blocks away from his Bel Air mansion, Xavier’s car was hit by a drunk driver. 
> 
> Even in the back seat, Xavier suffered an injury to his spinal cord. In the hospital, there were no mechanisms for Xavier to contact Lehnsherr.
> 
> Hours later, and successfully through one surgery, Xavier was able to wake and understand the implications of what had happened.
> 
> He suffered an injury at L2, leaving him with limited mobility in his legs without the assistance of braces or a wheelchair.
> 
> Across town, Lehnsherr was none the wiser.
> 
> -
> 
> As the party flourished into full steam, Lehnsherr privately worried about where Xavier was. It was never like his lover to be so late for an event, and with every call to Xavier’s phone, there was no answer.
> 
> His bandmates tried to direct his focus toward their success, to the responsibilities of being a host to hundreds of musicians and supporters, to the bevy of people who wanted his attention, but Lehnsherr remained concerned.
> 
> The party went on, though without Xavier at his side, Lehnsherr hardly noticed it. The following morning, the lingering effects of anxiety mixed with liquor nearly kept him from answering his phone.
> 
> -
> 
> He sobered once he heard Xavier's broken voice and his tale that made Lehnsherr go white.
> 
> Rushing to the hospital was no question.
> 
> -
> 
> Seeing Xavier as he was in a sterile hospital bed nearly brought Lehnsherr back to the pain of his sister’s death. 
> 
> This time, however, no one had died - though it was a near thing that Xavier wasn’t - and Lehnsherr pushed back all of his previous associations and stood at the side of his boyfriend.
> 
> They had never called each other that, in their nearly year-long relationship, but as he watched Xavier sit still, there was no other word in Lehnsherr’s mind for what they were to each other.

*

Charles’ muffled a sob into Erik’s chest as they finished sharing the pain of that night.

It was easy to see how the two were nearly inseparable by now. Erik had Charles all but tucked into the crook of his arm all throughout the last segment of the interview, speaking without ever taking his eyes off the fall of Charles' hair, the flash of his blue eyes.

Azazel and Janos reappeared at some point, though the mood of the room had shifted in their absence.

Together again, the conversation continued as they all shared the pain of Charles’ injury on the band’s future.

*

> The sheer elation at winning so many awards the night before was squashed by the news of Xavier’s injury.
> 
> Beyond just Lehnsherr, Sergey and Quested were alarmed by what Fate had done to their current producer and mentor.
> 
> In the immediate aftermath, the band shut down its plans for a tour, citing a need to help their producer and friend and instead the trio focused solely on Xavier’s recovery.
> 
> Lehnsherr took the lead in helping to organize Xavier’s life in such a way that his home could be adapted to fit both a wheelchair and heavy braces once Xavier was strong enough to attempt walking with them.
> 
> Moreover, Lehnsherr all but decided that the band would move from New York to Los Angeles to be closer to Xavier in his convalescence. 
> 
> -
> 
> Xavier hated everything about what had happened to him. He was no longer the one who looked after the bands in his charge - watching as Lehnsherr became not just a boyfriend but a caretaker.
> 
> Never in his mind’s eye when he started his relationship with Lehnsherr did Xavier imagine that Lehnsherr would be one to dote and mother.
> 
> It was anathema to everything that Lehnsherr projected to care that deeply, as far as Xavier knew.
> 
> When he asked the question, though, Lehnsherr said that he had let his sister down all those years ago and he would never do that again.
> 
> At ease with the rationale, Xavier drifted back into the haze of his medication and the near emptiness that was below his waist.
> 
> -
> 
> True to his word, Lehnsherr had all but transformed Xavier’s home by the time the producer was able to return to it. There had been weeks in a rehabilitation hospital where Xavier had worked with physical therapists and doctors to help him gain muscle in his arms and start to see the true extent of the damage to his legs.
> 
> But in that time, Lehnsherr had done everything short of building a wheelchair and braces himself for Xavier.
> 
> The injury was the first test to their relationship, and it seemed that Lehnsherr was never going to give up on the man who changed his worldview.
> 
> -
> 
> There was no question that Lehnsherr would move into Xavier’s home. The only question was whether the rest of the band would follow suit.
> 
> Obviously the quick and drastic decision to move necessitated that they all live somewhere while Frost looked for a suitable place. Only as Lehnsherr turned into someone oddly domestic for Xavier’s sake, the need for another home was moot.
> 
> Xavier’s home was more than large enough for the four of them, especially if Lehnsherr planned to stay with Xavier in the master suite.
> 
> -
> 
> Months after the three of them moved into Xavier’s home, Metallic Storm made the official announcement of going on hiatus.
> 
> No one needed a reason to be given, for everyone knew that Lehnsherr would not work again until he was sure that Xavier was well enough.
> 
> Fans camped outside Xavier’s home and sat vigil, hoping for a speedy recovery.
> 
> -
> 
> Recovery was not speedy, not by any measure, but Lehnsherr and Xavier bore it as well as possible.
> 
> Neither man said they were dissatisfied with what they shared in bed, though the adjustment back to frantic kisses and rutting as teens did was less welcome than had been their inventive and creative forays of _before_ .
> 
> It was just a complication from Xavier’s injury that was a part of life.
> 
> Nothing could be done to fix it.
> 
> -
> 
> Ten months after Xavier’s injury, he finally looked at his house as if it were his and his alone. Sure, Metallic Storm occupied much of the space, but with a studio built into the ground floor, there was nowhere else the band needed to go if inspiration struck Lehnsherr.
> 
> Much as he had done before, Xavier did nothing to push Lehnsherr into writing, but his presence and encouragement during the days was enough to finally spark Lehnsherr into the mood to write.
> 
> Lehnsherr would hole himself up in a simple study Xavier had never used for hours on end, coming out looking drained and weary, but with hopeful eyes.
> 
> Xavier always wore a warm smile when Lehnsherr came out and as a reward, the pair would shut themselves in their suite for the night.
> 
> -
> 
> Slowly, Metallic Storm’s next album took shape. It was hard for Xavier to sit at the mixing station for hours on end to get through more than a song a day, but no one minded.
> 
> Seven months after Lehnsherr had started writing, the band and Xavier were satisfied with the cut of the record. 
> 
> The hiatus was over just in time for album to be released in time for the following year’s Grammy Awards.
> 
> -
> 
> _Weathered Stones_ was met with critical and popular support, to the shock and relief of the band and of Xavier.
> 
> After so many months together, the four of them felt as if they were a family and they had figuratively given birth to this album.
> 
> It sounded and felt like a labor of love to the masses.
> 
> For the first time in their career, Metallic Storm started to look forward to a tour, at least as a way to share this experience with the world.
> 
> -
> 
> The Grammys were almost an afterthought for Lehnsherr that year. He had to attend, of course, but the ceremony held so many new emotions.
> 
> In the days leading up to the broadcast, it was evident that the industry was planning to pay its respects to Xavier, and to what had happened to him the year previous.
> 
> That all felt premature to Lehnsherr, but he kept quiet on the subject. Xavier had not died, but as it had been close enough, there was little Lehnsherr could do to stop the display of support and relief.
> 
> -
> 
> Metallic Storm swept their nominations and left the ceremony as triumphant heroes. Xavier, too, was more than honored with his awards on behalf of the band.
> 
> Together, they all thanked each other for unwavering support in times of crisis, and thanked the fans.
> 
> It was the perfect moment to start a tour on, though Lehnsherr all but hated the idea of leaving on a nearly two-year long tour. Frost and Xavier had been insistent that it happen, however, and with a heavy heart, Lehnsherr left behind the comfort of his new home with Xavier and ventured out into the unknown.
> 
> -
> 
> It was a miracle, in Lehnsherr’s mind, that he had survived so long away from Xavier as the tour came to an end.
> 
> Back in the comfort of Xavier’s home, there were only three more shows for Metallic Storm to perform before they could relax again.
> 
> In the two years that he had been away from Xavier, Lehnsherr found that he could do nothing to stave off the feeling of home he felt when Xavier was near him.
> 
> No more so than when he found Xavier in the study that helped create _Weathered Stones_. 
> 
> In his chair, Xavier looked at ease in a way that Lehnsherr still marveled at. There were still hours before the band needed to arrive at Staples Center and so Lehnsherr sat at the foot of Xavier’s chair and strummed his guitar.
> 
> He played nonsense, but as he did, Xavier found and started to scatter some of the early drafts from _Weathered Stones_ ’s songs.
> 
> Content to sit in the white noise of Lehnsherr’s guitar, the couple said nothing. No doubt there was much left unsaid.
> 
> -
> 
> A note rested on the nightstand on Xavier’s side of the bed later that day. It read:
> 
> _Come to the show tonight._
> 
> _EL_
> 
> Lehnsherr had long since left for rehearsals and so Xavier was forced to wonder at the curtness of the missive.
> 
> He did call for the car to get him in time to make the show, however.
> 
> -
> 
> Just before they were set to go on, Lehnsherr finally spotted Xavier waiting in the wings. 
> 
> There was an excitement in the room that crackled all around and Lehnsherr smiled before kissing Xavier on the cheek and leaving for last-minute preparations.
> 
> The set was a blur, lost in the rhythm of the music and the hum of the crowd, but just as the band was set to leave before their scheduled encore, Lehnsherr called for the house lights to be raised and for Xavier to come on stage.
> 
> The crowd roared as Xavier rolled onstage, front and center where there was a spotlight waiting for him.
> 
> As the din wound down, Lehnsherr declared that the last day of this tour was more than just the end of a tour. It was the beginning of something else entirely.
> 
> Dropping to one knee next to Xavier’s chair, Lehnsherr called a box from the wings and in front of thousands, asked for Xavier’s hand in marriage.
> 
> No one in the audience heard Xavier’s answer, but the news the next day only confirmed what everyone thought: Lehnsherr and Xavier were to be married.

*

The ring Erik gave Charles that day rested against the delicate skin still. It was a sign of a road that started at Erik’s lowest and survived Charles’ lowest as well.

Together, the two rose from pain and found peace: the point between rage and serenity.

No answer was even given as the interview wrapped up about what the true point between rage and serenity was. Instead, the four of them moved to leave, thanking everyone for the time to discuss their lives.

Erik rose to help Charles back into his chair.

As they left, Erik’s smile cracked, just for a minute, and it was clear that the small boy who fell in love with a broken piano still found joy in the world that he created with sound.

The same must be true for Azazel and Janos, or else the rumors of Metallic Storm’s next album have been grossly exaggerated.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to **ninemoons42** and **starxd-sparrow** for the beta and help. 
> 
> Title taken from "Hallelujah".


End file.
